Sunday, March 21, 2010

What Are You Hoping for Today? By Heidi Avery

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians 3:20

My husband deals with a great burden in this world.Being the sole provider of a family of 5 is a huge responsibility.He’s a business owner, so not only does he bear the burden of providing financially for us, but he also carries that responsibility for each of the families that work with and for him.He hopes for success.He hopes for financial security.I’ve found myself hoping for the same thing just so his burden would be lifted.My hope is for him to be released from those stresses because it’s what wears him down the most.

I also hold great hope in the wellbeing of my children.I hope I’m a good mom.I hope I’m doing all I can to raise them up to be happy, healthy, smart and God fearing children.While it’s a blessing to be their mom, just like my husbands job it is also sometimes burdensome bearing this responsibility of raising them.There are endless hopes that I have for them, not to mention all the dreams they don’t even have yet, I hope for those too.

These are the things I am hoping for today.

They are the things that are on my mind on a daily basis.However, it never fails, just as these all important hopes settle there in the forefront of my mind I also sense the calming presence of the Spirit and the all familiar feel of conviction gently impressed upon my heart. With that my mind effortlessly shifts to the one true hope that I can be sure of.The hope I have in my Jesus. The hope I have in the promise of His return. The hope I have in my eternal security in Heaven.I can’t be sure about the success of my husbands business.I can’t be sure of the wellbeing of my children.But, Jesus?This is hope I can count on.This is the hope that I need to be dwelling on. All other hopes are at risk, but this hope is mine already.

Is it wrong for me to have hopes in this world?No.Often God has great plans through our hopes and dreams; he often blesses us with those very hopes and dreams.However, they were never meant to replace the hope we have in Jesus.

The ever-present hopes of our flesh and the eternal hope of our soul are in battle daily.It takes great discipline to keep our eyes fixed on the hope we have in Jesus. This week let’s accept the challenge to focus on the hope of Jesus and the eternity we have with him in heaven above all worldly hopes.